This paper is intended to be a beginners introduction to the field of
quantum computing. As I began to study this topic at the University of
Illinois under the supervision of DrRoy Campbell in 1999, there was
a lack of introductory material to the topic. This paper will
hopefully serve as an introduction to the rudiments of quantum
computing and the specifics of Shor's algorithm for factoring large
numbers.

In order to get the most out of this paper, readers should be familiar
with the following topics:

Binary representation of numbers

Complex numbers

Vector mathematics

That being said there are appendices covering the bare essentials of
those topics that are needed to fully comprehend this paper.

The field of quantum computing has its own vocabulary, most of the
novel terms used in this paper are described in the glossary at the
end.